Read this morning that coaches at Iowa took pay cuts during pandemic except for Ferentz. Instead he did not take bonus for making Bowl which we never played. Always been a fan of Ferentz but I have to say after making millions over the years at Iowa this was a not a class move on his part!
Pandemic Pay cuts
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spliff45
Well-Known Member
The entire football staff declined pay cuts. While the optics are bad, Kirk has donated enough to athletic programs like Kinnick Edge campaign and football letterwinner initiatives, not to mention the hospital. Meh, this doesn't really bother me.
Edit: Here's a link to the article
www.thegazette.com
Edit: Here's a link to the article
Coaches McCaffery, Bluder, Brands took pandemic pay cuts. Not Ferentz
None of the University of Iowa’s contracted football coaches — including head coach Kirk Ferentz — participated in voluntary salary reductions that UI Athletics announced last summer in light of massive COVID-compelled losses that officials cited weeks later in justifying their decision to cut...
www.thegazette.com
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Fryowa
Administrator
1) Who cares if tennis, monkey bars, and pool jumping got cut? Non-revenue sports should not complain if their entire existence is due to the football program paying all their bills and scholarships and meals and lodging and equipment.
2) I'm no Ferentz fan boy, but he's donated almost $2 million to both the athletic department and the Children's Hospital. GTFO with that.
3) If they wanted pay cuts mandatory they should have made them mandatory. Anyone in this country who agrees to take a voluntary pay cut with no danger to their job if they don't, is a dumbass.
GesterHawk
Well-Known Member
I think I remembered the football staff also declined their pay increases after the season.
And yes, they might not have played in the bowl game, but the university was contractually obligated to pay them their bowl bonus. That is over $400k that was declined. The rest of the coaching staffs declined a total of $1.4 mil? So in total $1.8 mil was saved, and nearly a quarter of that was from one program.
Nothing to see here except a newspaper trying to pile on to a football program when it is already fighting poor public perception.
And yes, they might not have played in the bowl game, but the university was contractually obligated to pay them their bowl bonus. That is over $400k that was declined. The rest of the coaching staffs declined a total of $1.4 mil? So in total $1.8 mil was saved, and nearly a quarter of that was from one program.
Nothing to see here except a newspaper trying to pile on to a football program when it is already fighting poor public perception.
Casualfan
Well-Known Member
I guess if my kid was a monkey bar participant and it was cut I'd care. The problem with society is as long as something doesn't negatively effect them then they think it's not a problem.
Fryowa
Administrator
It's not that simple.
Collegiate athletics were intended from their infancy to be recreational opportunities for college students to spend time, exercise, and become well-rounded people. They were NOT intended as a way to pay for college and travel around the country playing golf and soccer.
Because college football and basketball have morphed into the leviathan monsters they are now, schools can afford to offer scholarships and sports that lose tons of money every year. It is quite literally because college football and basketball exist, that gymnasts and boat rowers get to play those sports and in a lot of cases get tuition paid for. I've gone pretty in depth before about why non-revenue sports should be 100% self-funded and club level activities. The Iowa hockey program is a beautiful example of how it can work right.
And let's not forget that no one had a scholarship revoked. Gymnasts, track and field athletes, and swimmers all are allowed to keep getting their checks for tuition room, and board, and they are obviously eligible for immediate transfer if they want.
kicker22
Well-Known Member
Without putting to much effort into really diving into really exploring this issue, I guess my question is did faculty take pay cuts, or did tuition decrease, during the time in which there was no in person learning going on and things were being conducted remotely? If the answer is no, then I don't have a problem with Kirk not taking a pay cut and not accepting his bonus for being bowl eligible. I guess I don't have an issue with it.
Casualfan
Well-Known Member
There were layoffs
kicker22
Well-Known Member
I get that there were layoffs, but if cuts weren't across the board for all faculty and the higher ups, then I don't think Kirk's doing anything wrong. I'd venture to say that very few have put the amount of money back into that community that he has. I simply don't see it being my place to say he should have taken a pay cut, when he's donated more money than I'll ever see, to that community.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
His tax deduction made his donation about 1.3 million. Given he made about 40 mil over 15 years that's about 5% and I'd bet some on here have donated more than that as a percent as charity. MEH.
RobHowe
Administrator
The rub was that Barta (shocker) announced last summer that Bluder, Brands, Ferentz and McCaffery would be taking the pay cut/donation from their salary. Ferentz's contribution did not come out of his salary or at least hasn't yet. The other three did take a salary cut according to public record, which the CRG used for the story.
Barta or the UI rep who spoke to the CRG for the story could have done a better job of explaining how KF was contributing. But, alas, they did not.
Poor handling of information and PR by the athletic department.
Again, shocker.
Barta or the UI rep who spoke to the CRG for the story could have done a better job of explaining how KF was contributing. But, alas, they did not.
Poor handling of information and PR by the athletic department.
Again, shocker.
proudhawkfan21
Well-Known Member
Anyone here that wants to volunteer for pay cuts of their own cast the first stone.
Really? Ferentz makes like 4 million a year! Many Iowa fans lost their jobs and much more during this past awful year of Pandemic. Ferentz has probably made between 50 and 70 million in his years at Iowa. He isnt some truck driver or teacher or secretary or other everyday kind of person. He is a very wealthy man who at this point could use some positive public relations.
Like i said I have always been a Ferentz fan and he has given back to the University but he should have made a gesture by reducing his enormous salary.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Kinda cheap talk. ISU Extension has professional positions they try and hire for at the same level as 2012 and a number of hard working educators haven't
Seen a pay increase in years. IL Extension laid off the entire ag team of 65 10 years ago and just a handful of jobs came back while the Pres took big pay hikes to 750 k to bolster his retirement. We are smoking Higher ed at the front line level. Schools give student jobs to internationals to qualify visa status as international students are bigger profit centers. The system is broken and KF is a sign of it.
Exactly... I mean for Fs sake take the ambiguity out of it. Are we doing shit for optics or because it needed to be done? Feels like optics is the only reason anything gets done anymore.
I don't can't care about how that 'makes him look' If it absolutely needed to be done and they couldn't turn the lights on if they didn't do it then you do what you gotta do. But to put the ball in his court like he has an obligation to then it turns into it's not enough. No matter how much he agrees to do. So put it in writing if you're going to agree to something like that and if not then it's not personal it's just business
Fryowa
Administrator
Yep.
Whole lotta virtue signaling here by the proletariat saying they'd be Dudley Do-Right and hand over part of their paychecks. Especially when the guy they're piling on has donated more money than a lot of people will ever see in their entire careers.
Bottom line is Kerk chose to donate afterwards rather than take it out of his paycheck and the CRG wanted to make news out of it. And the trolls are gorging themselves.
And I suppose their may be a tax benefit for him to do so. And that just infuriates those same trolls. The media hacks disingenuously 'reporting' this may have an agenda or don't. Maybe they are just opportunists and saw a way to stir the pot and get their clicks during a quiet time of year...
Fryowa
Administrator
Especially the one on this thread who only comes out of the woodwork during the off season to troll people on politics and give tin hat economics lectures.
